Free The Billion Dollar Bad Boy by Jackie Ashenden Page A

. He was going to go for it, he was. The land would be hers and finally she would have done something right.
    Finally her father would realize what he had in her.
    That she might not have the de Winter blood but she was a de Winter in everything else that mattered.
    Donovan looked up from his glass, still smiling. But there was a hard gleam in his eyes. “Yes, a very attractive offer. But the answer, Victoria, is no.”
    She fought to keep the disappointment off her face. “What? No, the offer isn’t good enough? Or no, you want more time to consider?”
    He straightened against the bar, placing his tumbler very precisely down on top of it. Then looked at her, his eyes hard chips of turquoise. “The answer is no, I will never sell Morrow land. Not to you. Not to anyone.”
    Shock coursed down her spine but she held herself strong against it. Refused to let it get to her. “You’re bluffing.”
    He leaned back on his elbow, quirked a brow. “You think?”
    “Your brother wants to sell it.”
    “My brother is wrong. It’s Morrow land and it’s staying in Morrow hands.”
    No, she was not going to let him have this. She was not going to let him take this deal from her, not now when she was so close. She’d never let a deal she wanted slip through her fingers. She wasn’t about to let this one go now.
    She took a deep, silent breath, controlling the shock and surge of anger. Made herself give him a cool smile in return. “Does Jax know you’ve decided not to sell?”
    His expression didn’t change but she saw the slight flicker in his eyes. So slight she might have missed it if she hadn’t been watching. “This,” Donovan said in a hard voice, “has nothing to do with Jax.”
    So he didn’t want his brother to know. Finally, she had leverage.
    Victoria leaned her hip against the bar. “Hasn’t it? I wonder what he’d say if he knew that you’re refusing our—let’s face it—more than generous offer.”
    The lines of Donovan’s features hardened. He was not smiling at all now, anger glowing in the depths of his eyes.
    And perversely, all she felt was more excitement building in her chest, in her throat. Excitement that she’d made him drop that lazy, taunting playboy mask he wore. That she’d made him reveal himself.
    “I mean,” she went on, sensing her advantage, “if you’re not amenable, I could even take it to him directly. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to—”
    He moved, so fast she didn’t have time to get away, his hands on her hips, pulling her close. She froze, heat radiating out from where his hands touched her, stealing her breath, stealing all thought.
    His mouth was at her ear, his breath feathering the side of her neck, all warmth and the smokiness of the whiskey he’d been drinking. “Don’t. You. Dare.” Each word soft, firm. Then he leaned in further, took her earlobe between his teeth, and, very gently, bit her.
    It felt like she’d stuck her finger in a power socket, a surge of electricity shooting straight through her. Making her move instinctively, without a thought, uncaring of where they were, turning her head so her mouth met his sensual taunting one. Conducting the current between them into one hot, aching endless loop.
    Everything stopped. There was nothing but this moment. Nothing but her mouth on his and the heat that echoed and reverberated through them.
    Donovan pulled away after what felt like eons, his eyes so dark the color looked obscured by thunderclouds. “Don’t do this,” he said quietly. “Not business. Not tonight.”
    She was shaking. Trembling, and she couldn’t stop. She wanted to say something, something cool and flippant to take charge of the conversation, take charge of the moment. But he was so close, the scent of him reminding her of what had happened between them in the limo. All that heat, that blinding pleasure …
    “What else can I do?” Her voice was uncertain, hoarse from an honesty she was unfamiliar with. “What else